Gov. Jared Polis signed into law Friday morning a bevy of new gun regulations that advocates hope will tamp down gun violence in the state and had opponents pledging to sue over as soon as his pen hit the paper.

The July Fourth shooting suspect's legal firearms purchases following repeated police background checks have exposed deep flaws in the piecemeal state and federal systems intended to stop someone like him.

On Monday, in the city of Highland Park, Ill., a deranged goblin of a man opened fire on a July 4 parade, killing seven innocent people and wounding three dozen others. After an intense search, the culprit was apprehended and taken into custody. Yet again, a mass shooting has sullied America.

President Joe Biden returned to the White House on Independence Day only to be confronted by another mass shooting before an expected summer of violence ahead of November's midterm elections.

While Democrats hope to fight the fall campaign on issues such as the Supreme Court's decision regarding abortion, the economy and crime are likely to dominate.

Once again, an angry young man with a high-powered rifle wreaks bloody havoc on an American community. Once again, heartbroken families must plan funerals for loved ones. Once again, something so simple — like going to church or attending school and now watching a parade — is added to the pleasures of life that can no longer be taken for granted. And once again, we must ask why we allow this madness to continue.

In the heart of Highland Park, Illinois, a community has been gathering in mourning, placing flowers, messages of remembrance and American flags at the scene of yet another mass shooting in the US.

Yellow barricade tape stretches down the sidewalks along Central Avenue, the main route for a Fourth of July parade Monday morning that was shattered by gunfire. Seven people were killed and dozens were wounded as a man fired a semi-automatic rifle from a business rooftop at crowds below before fleeing, authorities say.

Illinois lawmakers are discussing measures to give the state more authority to stop people who threaten violence from buying guns after the deadly shooting this week at a July Fourth parade in Highland Park.

Suspected gunman Robert Crimo III, who has been charged with seven counts of murder, obtained a permit required in Illinois to buy guns after encounters with police in 2019 in which he attempted suicide and threatened to kill his family.

According to police, Robert Crimo III legally bought several firearms in 2020 and 2021, including the one he allegedly used to murder seven and injure dozens more on Monday.

Flashback: In September 2019, Highland Park police were called to the Crimo family home after he threatened to "kill everyone," Lake County Deputy Sheriff Chris Covelli told reporters Tuesday.

Police confiscated 16 knives, a dagger and a sword and then reported the incident to the Illinois State Police, Covelli said.

The suspect in the Highland Park, Illinois, Fourth of July mass shooting was flagged by police as a "clear and present danger" in 2019, authorities said Tuesday.

Robert "Bobby" E. Crimo III, 21, the suspect in the mass shooting that killed seven people and wounded dozens of others at a Fourth of July parade, was still able to clear state-required background checks to purchase firearms on at least four separate occasions between 2020 and 2021, the Illinois State Police said.